One girl's twistedly fantastic interpretation of what the hell is really going on in those tribes.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Jeff Probst & Mark Burnett Almost Came To Blows

Hey Survivor Fans! I know it's unusual for me to blog on a Saturday, but I got a hot little nugget of gossip that's dying to get out. It comes straight from a Survivor Insider.

I had asked my source why there were no family visits this year on Survivor and the answer I got was WAY more than I had anticipated. Put down your snow shovels East Coasters, grab yourself a tumbler of Brandy, and get ready for some Survivor Gossip!

The reason there were no family visits this season "is because there was no food and for many days no water after the hurricane came and washed away the shellfish and plant life..."

"Even the family videos [got lost] in the hurricane." CBS had to send film crews to various families houses to reshoot their Sears Family Moment.

Here's the good stuff...

"This was the first year they did not give cast members any rice or other food at all. Also they refused to give them water to drink and the well had dried up after 2 weeks, so they were very dehydrated most of the time. When it was raining they couldn't boil water, so they had nothing to drink. Jeff Probst continually asked Mark Burnett in front of the cast to give them water and food but Mark refused continually. One time they almost came to blows." *bites fist* Is it wrong that I'd totally pay money to see that?

Cast members were even lowered to stealing food from ants. If they saw a trail of ants, they'd get so excited because they knew that food must be nearby. Most of the time they only had coconut to eat, but eating too much of it gave them diarrhea. After leaving the jungle, it took some cast members roughly 3 weeks to be able to eat and process solid food normally again.

Wow! Good stuff. Makes me want to run up to Dimples and pinch his cheeks or something. And that Mark Burnett... what a dick! I get that the tribe members go without food, but water? If the well dried up and they had no other way to get water, why didn't the producers step in and do something? Perhaps offer the tribe another alternative? What do you guys think? Was it too harsh to deny the cast water after their only source disappeared or is that the nature of the game? Comment it out bitches and have a great day!

13 comments:

Probst FTW! If it ever came to blows you just know Probst could whoop the shit out of Mark. Probst got tickets to the gun show!I wonder if you can tell me-this is something ive wondered about Survivor for many years-do they allow the women to have tampons? I know that's kind of gross, but a practical question i think. i mean, if they wont give them water id figure theyd just say no to Tampax. Then again i doubt they want to waste the time censoring. ive always wondered that!!!

thank Colette! And how dumb am i that i didnt even think about things like the pill or Yaz? Then again i have been wondering that since the first season, and those period-skipping pills werent as popular then. im surprised about the sunscreen though. is that a new thing? I could have sworn i saw people on there that looked like their skin was falling off.

LOL I don't think the sunscreen thing is new at all. As a matter of fact, I think I first learned about it after Season 1. I either read it in an article or saw it on the Season 1 Behind The Scenes DVD.

Wow, that is super harsh!! I'm surprised more cast members weren't really sick! It's one thing to make them forage for their own food, but to not help them with water is dangerous.

I'd wondered about the period thing too! It never occured to me to make it stop though. duh! Of course that's what I'd do. I had also wondered about people with things like asthma.. would they allow them to play the game and take puffers, or insulin if they had diabetes.. or are only super healthy people allowed to play.

i heard that they ended up clearing the set and that Jeff broke down and cried and said that he "didn't sign up for this..." Props to Probst for that. Not allowing them water was really, really, stupid and a lawsuit waiting to happen because while you can get contestants to sign waivers up the wazoo, you can't get them to sign off on your negligence, the law doesn't work that way. People can survive 2 weeks or longer without food, but 72 hours without water and organs start to shut down. The contestants had to feel like they were being exploited at that point, if not before. Mark Burnett, in his efforts to be "authentic", showed callous disregard for their lives, all for the sake of ratings, and THAT is unfathomable.

I wonder if anyone will comment on that in the finale? can't WAIT for that!!!!!!

Colette, now that I know you are in a different time zone, I won't be looking at the internet anytime tomorrow evening. Anyone else on the west coast, be forewarned!

The thing about the water just doesn't sound right, given the fact that MB &Co. are so careful about injuries and medical issues. I wonder if there is more to that story, I hope so as I like the show, Probst and MB. My second curiosity is what you initially touched on, and that is the family visit issue. Hearing that there was not enough food or water seems a little lame for a multi-million dollar production. I'm sure that if they can fly the loved ones to the island, they can bring some additional F&B. Besides, they would have had the Ponderosa stocked up by now? It would be interesting to know both answers...for now, Mike.